Astronomy (current stories)

[MacBandit]

I would like this thread to be a thread for the amateur astronomers and those that are simply interested in astronomy to come to post or read the latest astronomy stories that interest the members.

[MacBandit]

To start it off here's mine for the day.


Meteorites Rain on Northern Illinois

A chunk of interplanetary debris detonated into the sky over northeastern
Illinois just before midnight on March 26th, dropping a rain of meteorites
onto Chicago's suburbs. In Park Forest, a five-pound stone punched through
the roof of a home and rolled to a stop not far from the bed of a sleeping
13-year-old. Rattled residents flooded police and fire stations with
calls, as the bolide's atmospheric entry rivaled the Sun and could be seen
from as far away as Ohio. The intruding meteoroid had an estimated
diameter of 1 or 2 meters and a mass of perhaps 10 tons. No one was
injured by the falling fragments, and scientists have asked that residents
turn in any pieces they find.

[Mr. Anderson]

That's friggin awesome! I'd love to find a meteorite.....

When did this happen?

Also for a lot of stories I get the www.space.com news email, very cool stuff.

D

[Kwyjibo]

Hey Mac Bandit

I was home on spring break and I live in the town next to the meteor strike point.

http://www.nbc5.com/news/2067595/detail.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/032703_ns_skyflash.html

It was realyl freaky actually I was working on my website and I thought it was the start of a t-storm but no. I was also hopign to be the first one to post that story oh well. I heard it went thru a few floors of the house like 2nd level frist level and landed in the basement. Kinda reminded me of that simpsons episode .... the size of a chiuaha's head.

[Mr. Anderson]

That is great - those pics are fantastic, the size of the meteorite jsut amazes me. :D

D

[MacBandit]

About 10 years ago there were two fireballs that hit within the small valley I grew up in within about 3 years of eachother. The valley is about 15miles by 15 miles. It's kinda freaky to hear a concussion and to look up and see this fire ball of rock streaking through the sky with the mountains surrounding the valley in the background letting you know that it's low and within the valley. The first time this happened nearly about 13 years ago the sonic boom shook people out of there beds. It was the talk of the town (800 people) for months.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
That's friggin awesome! I'd love to find a meteorite.....

When did this happen?

Also for a lot of stories I get the www.space.com news email, very cool stuff.

D

I get frequent updates from Sky and Telescope through my email also.

[Mr. Anderson]

My new favorite space site.

http://hubblesite.org/

some of the coolest images I've yet seen :D

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
My new favorite space site.

http://hubblesite.org/

some of the coolest images I've yet seen :D

D

This is a great hubble site too.

http://hubble.gsfc.nasa.gov/

[MacBandit]

This is a long time main stay of mine. They have a nice daily audio program.

www.stardate.org

[Mr. Anderson]

I went and found the images of the LightEcho of the exploding star and created a simple flash animation that has better images than the .gifs used at www.space.com

check it out

http://www.gone3d.com/pages/lightecho.html

D :D

[Mr. Anderson]

I'm going to post interesting items here when I find them.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/quantum_bits_030402.html

This is very interesting, and if it proves true is going to cause a few headaches. Quantum theory arleady does, maybe this will help making it simple (yah, right ;) )

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
I'm going to post interesting items here when I find them.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/quantum_bits_030402.html

This is very interesting, and if it proves true is going to cause a few headaches. Quantum theory arleady does, maybe this will help making it simple (yah, right ;) )

D

Yes, very cool. I like it when new evidence disprooves old theories. It prooves the one thing we all know. That we know nothing.

[MacBandit]

Planetary disc around another star photographed.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/article_911_1.asp

This is really cool. I didn't think photos of this magnitude would happen for at least another 20 years. Hubble just continues to amaze me. I wonder what sort of magnification they needed?

[Kwyjibo]

According to my physics teacher the astroid that hit chicago was sold for 12k. i think the person coudl ahve gotten alot more if they would have held out a little longer...

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by Kwyjibo
According to my physics teacher the astroid that hit chicago was sold for 12k. i think the person coudl ahve gotten alot more if they would have held out a little longer...

true, but I'm thinking it would take more than that for me to sell it. I'd want to keep it.

As for the proto star system, very cool stuff. What will be even better is the NGST (next gen space telescope). Its going to be able to make the Hubble images look like an old 640x480 digital camera ;)

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
true, but I'm thinking it would take more than that for me to sell it. I'd want to keep it.

As for the proto star system, very cool stuff. What will be even better is the NGST (next gen space telescope). Its going to be able to make the Hubble images look like an old 640x480 digital camera ;)

D

From what I understand it should be able to. Maybe just maybe we will finally see what a quasar looks like.

[Kwyjibo]

I would hold out for a larger sum, from what I know actualy meteorites are quite rare because even tho they land every once and a while they are rarely found...

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
From what I understand it should be able to. Maybe just maybe we will finally see what a quasar looks like.

Well, I went looking for some more info on it and found out that its been named the James Webb Space Telescope.

http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/

Intersting bits - 2010 for deployment, quite a ways a way.

But its not going to orbit the earth!! They're going to put it around a Lagrange point 1.5 million kms from earth. That's going to be very cool, but if it has any problems, there aren't going to be any shuttle missions to fix it.

Unless that nuclear ion drive system gets working by then ;)

http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/overview/design/orbit.html

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Well, I went looking for some more info on it and found out that its been named the James Webb Space Telescope.

http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/

Intersting bits - 2010 for deployment, quite a ways a way.

But its not going to orbit the earth!! They're going to put it around a Lagrange point 1.5 million kms from earth. That's going to be very cool, but if it has any problems, there aren't going to be any shuttle missions to fix it.

Unless that nuclear ion drive system gets working by then ;)

http://www.stsci.edu/jwst/overview/design/orbit.html

D

Wow what a cool idea. A geo-solar stationary orbit. It will always be in the Earths shadaw that will be very advantageous.

[Mr. Anderson]

Yeah, its very cool. And there are a couple more besides that one. But this will be the first time we'll have sent something out that far to 'orbit'. Imagine what the pics of the moon and earth will be like? That's thats going to be very cool.

D

[Mr. Anderson]

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/04/05/jupiter.moons.ap/index.html

So when are they going to stop counting? Saying something only a mile across is a moon is pretty much granting it that status as a technicality.

If that's the case, then when we actually get a good look at the objects orbiting Saturn in its rings, that planet will end up with 10,000s of moons.


D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/04/05/jupiter.moons.ap/index.html

So when are they going to stop counting? Saying something only a mile across is a moon is pretty much granting it that status as a technicality.

If that's the case, then when we actually get a good look at the objects orbiting Saturn in its rings, that planet will end up with 10,000s of moons.


D

I agree that they need to define a moon better. Also I was watching StarGate SG1 the other day and they happened to be arguing about the fact the (planet) they were on was actually a moon. Well I think that definition needs to be refined also. I think some of the larger moons of Jupiter could actually be defined as a planet.

I don't know what the mean size of the objects are in the rings of Saturn but you could very well be right about the quantity of moons though I don't know for sure. I'm waiting for a closer analysis of the rings to find out exactly what ther makeup is. If they are mostly rock then it's quite possible that it use to be one big or two big moons that colided and created the rings. I know about the theories that the rings are mostly ice but I don't believe they have conclusive evidence.

[MacBandit]

Huge Gamma ray burst.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/article_914_1.asp


Have any of you ever wondered if these gamma ray bursts and some of these other bizarre flashes they pass off as natural astonomical activity could be some sort of huge intergalactic war. Wouldn't that be startling to discover. I mean how do we know what some sort of advanced weapon would look like from 2 Billion light years away.

[Mr. Anderson]

Ha, a DeathStar of sorts, making a sun go black hole.....nice way to take out a civilization.

I certainly hope that's not the case. Even if such a thing, or a sun going nova in our general stellar neighborhood, we'd have problems with the radiation.

D

[kettle]

Originally posted by MacBandit
I agree that they need to define a moon better. Also I was watching StarGate SG1 the other day and they happened to be arguing about the fact the (planet) they were on was actually a moon. Well I think that definition needs to be refined also. I think some of the larger moons of Jupiter could actually be defined as a planet.

Wouldn't it be called a moon if the planet was in orbit around another planet as opposed to the star at the center of the particular system?

And, if a moon was large enough and had a natural satellite then that too would also be a moon regardless of size?:confused:

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by kettle
And, if a moon was large enough and had a natural satellite then that too would also be a moon regardless of size?:confused:

Well, in your definition a dust particle would be a moon - and theoretically, true, but giving every planet in the solar system billions of moons, not practical. There needs to be a certain point at which an object is something other than a moon.

But then what does it become?

D

[Rower_CPU]

How about a planetoid or minor planet?

I thought that was sort of a catch-all term for large interstellar bodies, though it's more often used to describe asteroids.

[Mr. Anderson]

True, but then they're not orbiting planets, just floating out in space, with highly eccentric orbits around the sun.

I'm sure there is a definition somewhere, but when astronomers start calling 1 mile wide rocks moons, it just made me wonder what the limit was. If we could identify .1 mile wide rocks around Jupiter would we call them moons too?

I think that just because they are identifiable at this point, they're getting the moon label. Some day that's going to have to change.

D

[MacBandit]

Two great new sites discovered by Hubbles new eyes.

First and the most amazing of the two is a photo of gas shells given off by a dying star. It looks just like a wake given off by a pebble thrown in a pond.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/article_916_1.asp


The second is something that astronomers tied to the Hubble have been truly hoping for with the new ACS instruments. Photos of distant Supernovae.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/article_925_1.asp

[Mr. Anderson]

The two landing sites for the next Mars rovers have been chosen. I can't wait to see them on the Martian surface, hoping everything goes well....

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/mer_landsites_030411.html

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
The two landing sites for the next Mars rovers have been chosen. I can't wait to see them on the Martian surface, hoping everything goes well....

http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/mer_landsites_030411.html

D

Just to make things interesting I think they should do all the measurements in UK Imperial units convert that to American then that to metric and then back to American units.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Just to make things interesting I think they should do all the measurements in UK Imperial units convert that to American then that to metric and then back to American units.

Ha, well, we know what happened last time when they had issues with meters and feet on entry into the atmosphere......

I hopefully think that won't ever happen again. What a mess that was.

Cool pics, btw, I had seen the ripple image earlier.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Ha, well, we know what happened last time when they had issues with meters and feet on entry into the atmosphere......

I hopefully think that won't ever happen again. What a mess that was.

Cool pics, btw, I had seen the ripple image earlier.

D

Are you sure you saw that specific ripple image before? There is another one that is animated but is of a completely different image and is actually showing a slightly different event.

[Mr. Anderson]

I thought is was at Space.com, but it was actually at CNN

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/specials/scenes/frameset.exclude.html

Also this is an interesting article, somewhat concerning our earlier discussion about moons....

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/moon_definition_040103.html

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
I thought is was at Space.com, but it was actually at CNN

http://www.cnn.com/TECH/space/specials/scenes/frameset.exclude.html

Also this is an interesting article, somewhat concerning our earlier discussion about moons....

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/moon_definition_040103.html

D


That moon thing is certainly interesting though it really doesn't sort it out any further. I think they should just call them all satelites and categorise them by size, make-up, and whether or not they have an atmosphere.

My question/statement still stands though about a livable moon (i.e. right atmospheric conditions etc.) around a large planet would you call that moon itself a planet or just a moon. I personally think it should be called a planet it makes little difference to me whether it orbits a planet or not it still circles a star and is large enough to live on.

[janey]

i believe that the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2Mass) was completed about a week ago...there are some great pics there, but before you go make sure you have some available bandwidth because a lot of the pics are high-res.
http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by übergeek
i believe that the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2Mass) was completed about a week ago...there are some great pics there, but before you go make sure you have some available bandwidth because a lot of the pics are high-res.
http://irsa.ipac.caltech.edu

Very cool for an amateur astronomer who might be trying to identify something they were looking at.

[janey]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Very cool for an amateur astronomer who might be trying to identify something they were looking at.
yes, however i don't think it was really meant for amateurs or newbies...the catalogs and stuff confused my science teacher...who has a PhD in i forget what.
the pictures are nice though...

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by übergeek
yes, however i don't think it was really meant for amateurs or newbies...the catalogs and stuff confused my science teacher...who has a PhD in i forget what.
the pictures are nice though...

I don't see a problem. You select the catalog then you enter a search radius around a certain coordintate. Then you select how you want your data output. Starting with right accension, then declination, etc..

Also there is a manual for each function.

[janey]

Originally posted by MacBandit
I don't see a problem. You select the catalog then you enter a search radius around a certain coordintate. Then you select how you want your data output. Starting with right accension, then declination, etc..

Also there is a manual for each function.
well it could be because my science teacher's sorta computer illiterate.

[MacFan25]

I've never really been into astronomy, but I just went to space.com, and was reading an article about a new moon found around Saturn. There's some interesting things on that site. :)

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by MacFan25
I've never really been into astronomy, but I just went to space.com, and was reading an article about a new moon found around Saturn. There's some interesting things on that site. :)

Expect hundreds if not thousands of new moons around Saturn in the coming years if they don't cofine there definition of a moon soon.

[janey]

meh...
lunar eclipse on may 15.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by übergeek
meh...
lunar eclipse on may 15.

Yeah, I heard about this but can't find any links on where its going to be seen from. If anyone has any info, post it.

Thanks,

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Yeah, I heard about this but can't find any links on where its going to be seen from. If anyone has any info, post it.

Thanks,

D

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_923_1.asp

Ask and ye shall receive.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_923_1.asp

Ask and ye shall receive.

thanks - looking forward to trying out a little multiple exposure photograhpy on the 15th.....

and I found a great link to some very nice Mars imagery.
http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
thanks - looking forward to trying out a little multiple exposure photograhpy on the 15th.....

and I found a great link to some very nice Mars imagery.
http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/

D

It's really quite interesting how out of all the people on this board it seems that you and I are the only ones that have a keen interest in astronomy.

[Rower_CPU]

I'm here, too. :)

Just silently lurking and checking out the amazing pictures...

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
I'm here, too. :)

Just silently lurking and checking out the amazing pictures...

That cool. Do either of you have scopes and do any amateur stuff of your own?

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by MacBandit
That cool. Do either of you have scopes and do any amateur stuff of your own?

Not me. All I have time/money for these days is star gazing in the mountains up North and the occasional meteor shower.

Someday I'd love to get a little scope...

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Not me. All I have time/money for these days is star gazing in the mountains up North and the occasional meteor shower.

Someday I'd love to get a little scope...

Scopes are really cheap now days. You can get an amazingly good 5" with tracking electronics for under $300. Though a good pair of binoculars will show you an amazing amount and will also help you learn your way around the sky.

[Mr. Anderson]

A friend of mine (who's also a member here) has a Sony DVCamera and we're hoping to get a time lapsed movie of the lunar eclispe.

He recently did a shot of an amarylis blooming, setting the camera to take a single frame every minute (or something like that). Its very cool and if we get a good clear night we'll do a time lapsed one over the capital.....that will look very cool.

D :D

[wdlove]

Starry Night Pro Version 4.X by Space Holding is available. It includes a 240 page guide and 2 CD ROM's for $179.95. A basic version is available for $79.95, which is more my speed! I currently have an older version.

http://www.starrynight.com/

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by wdlove
Starry Night Pro Version 4.X by Space Holding is available. It includes a 240 page guide and 2 CD ROM's for $179.95. A basic version is available for $79.95, which is more my speed! I currently have an older version.

http://www.starrynight.com/

Was this in reply to something?

[Mr. Anderson]

Starrynight has been available for quite some time now. Try to be a little more timely ;)

I have the 3.0 version myself and need to get the upgrade. Soon, I hope. But its great even though I have to run it in classic on my TiPB.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Starrynight has been available for quite some time now. Try to be a little more timely ;)

I have the 3.0 version myself and need to get the upgrade. Soon, I hope. But its great even though I have to run it in classic on my TiPB.

D

I'm too cheap to purcase it myself. Sure wish a copy would fall in my lap.;)

Maybe someone will buy it for me.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Starrynight has been available for quite some time now. Try to be a little more timely ;)

I have the 3.0 version myself and need to get the upgrade. Soon, I hope. But its great even though I have to run it in classic on my TiPB.

D

Sorry, but it was listed in the Boston Globe a "New in Software." So I thought that I was adding something new. How far behind is the Boston Globe?

It does speak positive about the Mac, unusual for the Glob! "On a Mac with OS X, the sky images are gorgeous, down to realistic coloring for the stars. With a PC, you'll want to check whether the computer is equipped to handle "Open GL." The images without OpenGL were not a good.

A great example that the Mac works out of the box! ;)

[MacBandit]

Starry Night 4.x has been out since well before Christmas.

[Mr. Anderson]

Uh Oh! The new Mars Rovers might have problems.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/04/15/mars.rovers.ap/index.html

Hopefully the delays don't drag on and they won't miss the launch window and end up having to wait almost a year for the planets to be in the right position for another shot.

D

[Rower_CPU]

That's not good...funding is scarce enough these days, and setbacks like this keep hurting NASA big-time.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Uh Oh! The new Mars Rovers might have problems.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/04/15/mars.rovers.ap/index.html

Hopefully the delays don't drag on and they won't miss the launch window and end up having to wait almost a year for the planets to be in the right position for another shot.

D

Better that then to turn the billions of dollars used into a martian oil drilling prospect.

[MacBandit]

Very cool pictures of North America.

These photos are from the shuttle radar topography mission. The large radar map of North America is over 200MB.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03377


This is the homepage of the site with the radar map. You can get all sorts of photos and maps of different bodies and objects all over the solar system here.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/

[MacAztec]

About 2 years ago, in the summer time, I was in my kitchen. I was cleanin off my plate (i just ate dinner), and my dad was outside. He started goin

"jas, jas, come here"

"hurry up jas!"

I ran outside, and right when I did, I looked and there was a FIREBALL about 30 miles east, only about 2 miles off the ground. It was BIG, and then about 4 seconds later, it broke up into 8 smaller flaming pieces, and vanished.

It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. My dad said he was watching it for about 10 seconds before he called me. He thought it was a plane at first, but then it was getting brighter and bigger.

Next day, in the local section on like the 3rd page of the paper, there was a small report about it. I guess a FEW people saw it, and they didnt make a big deal of it.

They said it was about 2 1/2 meters in diameter (the actualy meteor) before it broke up.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by MacAztec
About 2 years ago, in the summer time, I was in my kitchen. I was cleanin off my plate (i just ate dinner), and my dad was outside. He started goin

"jas, jas, come here"

"hurry up jas!"

I ran outside, and right when I did, I looked and there was a FIREBALL about 30 miles east, only about 2 miles off the ground. It was BIG, and then about 4 seconds later, it broke up into 8 smaller flaming pieces, and vanished.

It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. My dad said he was watching it for about 10 seconds before he called me. He thought it was a plane at first, but then it was getting brighter and bigger.

Next day, in the local section on like the 3rd page of the paper, there was a small report about it. I guess a FEW people saw it, and they didnt make a big deal of it.

They said it was about 2 1/2 meters in diameter (the actualy meteor) before it broke up.

Very cool. I think every one should be able to experience this first hand once in there life time.

I take it you read my post about a similar ocurrence on the first page of the thread?

Have you ever seen the one caught on an amateur video at a high school football game? It seems to be the most common footage aired on TV.

This is a very cool way to catch them on tape.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/article_679_1.asp

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
This is a very cool way to catch them on tape.


that would be fun for the first 20 or so you saw, but you'd have to have a good way of going through the video automatically and just saving the interesting bits.

Looking at 8 or so hours of video would be nuts.....

I have a Lego Robotics camera and the software controls the recording when it sees movement. If Lego ever came out with a better quality version, that would work perfectly, since it dumps the video right to your harddrive.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
that would be fun for the first 20 or so you saw, but you'd have to have a good way of going through the video automatically and just saving the interesting bits.

Looking at 8 or so hours of video would be nuts.....

I have a Lego Robotics camera and the software controls the recording when it sees movement. If Lego ever came out with a better quality version, that would work perfectly, since it dumps the video right to your harddrive.

D

There are motion sensing programs for the Mac also. The problem is everything is movin in the sky. It's rare to have a completely motionless sky (cloudless, planeles, birdless, etc..). I think it would be easier to get or write a program to scan for bright spots of light.

[MacBandit]

It's been a while since something good happened my way in Astronomy but I like this one. They took an extemely high magnification long exposure photograph at the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy looking for faint outer edge stars. The exposure time was 84 hours. That's not a typo it was actually 84 hours. They photographed stars down to the 31st magnitude.

Take a look at that great picture of a globular cluster at the bottom of the page. Pretty cool huh? Well it's even cooler when you consider it's a globular cluster in the Andromeda Galaxy not our Milky Way Galaxy.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_949_1.asp

[Mr. Anderson]

Wow - that's impressive given its even more sensitive than the original Deep Field shot of all the galaxies.

It would be great if they could take more of the sky, that's such a small, tiny piece. Just imagine how many galaxies and stars are actually out there.

Mind blowing :D

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by dukestreet
Wow - that's impressive given its even more sensitive than the original Deep Field shot of all the galaxies.

It would be great if they could take more of the sky, that's such a small, tiny piece. Just imagine how many galaxies and stars are actually out there.

Mind blowing :D

D

Yeah just think the area of sky that they took the photo of was the equivalant amount as a grain of sand held at arms length. Even at that there was easily a hundred galaxies in those photos.

The way I see it everything that we know is a comos within a cosmos within a cosmos. Start with the subatomic and up. The photos here and my onion peel view of the universe is that our known universe is most likely the equivalant of a galaxy within an even larger area of space.

[Mr. Anderson]

I'll have to dig around for the images, but work has been done on getting a 3D view of the galaxies in the universe. It looks like a mesh or web, strands of interconnecting galaxies and other places with mostly empty space. Very strange....

D

[MacBandit]

I've been meaning to post this for weeks but there is a total Lunar Eclipse this Thursday night.

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_923_1.asp

[Rower_CPU]

I might have to try to get out of the city and see it. Not sure if the weather will cooperate...

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
I might have to try to get out of the city and see it. Not sure if the weather will cooperate...

Well if the weather is halfway decent I will take my 10" scope out and try to get some photos of the eclipse through it. No promises but if I get some I will post them in a new thread.

[Mr. Anderson]

Here on the East Coast the eclipse pretty much starts as soon as it rises and gets dark - 8ish. But the full eclipse happens just after 11 PM - looks like rain and or clouds in the forcast - damn.

I would have loved to take a couple pics of the red moon, especially over DC, the Mall and monuments.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Here on the East Coast the eclipse pretty much starts as soon as it rises and gets dark - 8ish. But the full eclipse happens just after 11 PM - looks like rain and or clouds in the forcast - damn.

I would have loved to take a couple pics of the red moon, especially over DC, the Mall and monuments.

D

Yeah, that would be pretty cool to get a picture of the elcipse over time over different monuments. Maybe even a reflection of it in the reflection pond.

[Rower_CPU]

Overall, I didn't get too many good shots. Here's one of the better ones (that's my campus/workplace in the lower right).
http://calnet.sdsu.edu/images/eclipse.jpg

I did some abstract stuff, too..
http://calnet.sdsu.edu/images/lights.jpg

[MacBandit]

I didn't get to see it until it was fading. It was way too cloudy. Here's some shots I did through the scope holding my digital camera by hand. I'll post the rest of them to my homepage probably tomorrow.

The slight blue tinge on the bottom right is because I didn't take the time to collimate my scope. Also I don't know if it is even possible to get a good crisp focus when shooting from a digital through the eye-piece. Though I have to say these are my best astronomy photos yet.

[MacBandit]

#2

[MacBandit]

All in all I have 21 photos of the moon from tonight. I don't think they turned out to bad considering I was holding the camera by hand while taking the shot. Due to the amount of light the moon reflects there really wasn't the need to hold the camera still but since you are dealing with eye-relief through the eye-piece a little bit of tilt or movement of the camera makes the image distort or move so having a mount to hold the camera to the telescope might turn out sharper images. I'll be getting a mount in the next month or so and I guess I'll find out. What I really ought to do is build a mount that replaces the whole focuser assembly with a special mount for the digital camera with a focuser that moves the camera in and out so that the camera lense it's self would work like the eye-piece. I think that would be a lot of work though.

Oh and just so you know the first image is at about 38 power and the second one is at about 96 power. You should see the moon at about 500x that's when it get's really intersting. You can see little tiny rivulets coming out of even some of the smaller craters.

[Mr. Anderson]

I'm so bummed it was cloudy and raining here all night.....:(

Nice shots and thanks for posting - hopefully the next time this happens I'll be able to see it first hand.

D

[Rower_CPU]

Great shots, MacBandit!

I heard that we've got another eclipse in November. :)

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Great shots, MacBandit!

I heard that we've got another eclipse in November. :)

Yeah, I'm hoping that will be better weather - and if its colder, much better for taking pics....

D

[MacBandit]

Here's a link listing all the solar and lunar eclipses through 2004.

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_80_1.asp

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU
Great shots, MacBandit!

I heard that we've got another eclipse in November. :)


Hey thanks. I thought I have more people excited about my shots then there are. I guess they don't realize how impressive they are for an amateur Astronomer.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Hey thanks. I thought I have more people excited about my shots then there are. I guess they don't realize how impressive they are for an amateur Astronomer.

They are quite cool - so how did you take them?

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
They are quite cool - so how did you take them?

D

I have a 10" Dobsonian telescope that I used. I started out trying to get my digital camera ligned up with the eyepiece while on it's tripod. This was very difficult to do since you keep having to move the scope to track the moon and then repositition the tripod and camera. It turns out that it was pretty much unecessary though due to how bright the moon is. So I started grabbing the eyepiece and the camera lens with one hand and holding it ligned up while adjusting white balance and exposure for each shot. Orion makes a eyepiece clamp that holds small digital cameras in position to the eyepiece. I'll be getting that adaptor hopefully in the next month.

My next project is to get some better photos of the planets. I found a freeware imagestacker for OSX and I have been playing around with it and it seems like it will work well. If you don't know an image stacker allows you to take either a movie or a series of short shutter shots of a planet or other object then stack them on top of eachother which in effect brings out details and increases the overall equivalant brightness of the shot. If you want to check it out try the following link.

http://www.unm.edu/~keithw/keithsImageStacker.html

[OutThere]

Those are some pretty sick pictures...nice job

[wdlove]

Thank you MacBandit, great job! ;) Now we can look forward to November, I pray that we will have clear weather. If it's clear in your area, but cloudy here. Could you try to plan on a live feed for the Forum?

I hope that this comment isn't out of place MacBandit, but it's very sad about the babeallicious sp? thread. It's just too bad that a few had to ruin a great thing. I'm proud to know you as a friend because of the high morals that you displayed! ;) Thank you!

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by wdlove
Thank you MacBandit, great job! ;) Now we can look forward to November, I pray that we will have clear weather. If it's clear in your area, but cloudy here. Could you try to plan on a live feed for the Forum?

I hope that this comment isn't out of place MacBandit, but it's very sad about the babeallicious sp? thread. It's just too bad that a few had to ruin a great thing. I'm proud to know you as a friend because of the high morals that you displayed! ;) Thank you!

Thank you, for the kind words. Yes, it really is to bad about the babe thread. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It can be really hard sometimes to determine what is acceptable and what isn't and I know I toe'd the line but I hope that I didn't cross it. I wasn't told that I had by any of the mods so I assume that what I had done didn't cause the ultimate demise of the thread.

On the eclipse stuff. What exactly are you thinking of by a live feed?

If I have that mount I will be able to shoot short videos along with getting better pictures.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Thank you, for the kind words. Yes, it really is to bad about the babe thread. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. It can be really hard sometimes to determine what is acceptable and what isn't and I know I toe'd the line but I hope that I didn't cross it. I wasn't told that I had by any of the mods so I assume that what I had done didn't cause the ultimate demise of the thread.

On the eclipse stuff. What exactly are you thinking of by a live feed?

If I have that mount I will be able to shoot short videos along with getting better pictures.

If you could somehow post your short videos and pictures during the actual lunar eclipse? Glad that we could commiserate together! ;)

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by wdlove
If you could somehow post your short videos and pictures during the actual lunar eclipse? Glad that we could commiserate together! ;)

If the weather is right I will definitely do that. The only question mark in there is that I don't know if I will be even near a computer that's online at the time. I often go up into the hills for events like that and would have done the same for this one but the weather was awful and I didn't want to waste a trip and have it be unfruitful. As it was I stood on top a butte here in town for a little over an hour hoping for a clearing in the clouds. When a clearing finally did happen I was at home and got my photos there.

I usually make a dozen trips over a year for sky viewing and when ever I do from now on I will be taking all the photos I can. Hopefully I can share some the great view through my big scope with all of you.

[MacBandit]

Okay back on topic. Here's the latest rush of stories.

First off this is simply one about observations of the eclipse from different places around the world.

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/eclipses/article_957_1.asp



This one is about the incredible interaction between multiple galaxies in the Stephan's Quintet. There's a couple of gorgeous photos at the top.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_954_1.asp



Finally we have one about Neptune. It looks like Neptunes atmosphere has been changing dramatically in the last decade or so and is losing some of it's beautiful blue coloring.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_955_1.asp

[MacBandit]

Here's the link to my homepage with all my Lunar Eclipse photos from yesterday.

http://homepage.mac.com/louiskst/PhotoAlbum77.html

[MacBandit]

Have you ever wondered what the Earth looks like from Mars. Well now you can see for yourself. The Mars Global Surveyor Craft orbiting Mars took some photos of Earth.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_959_1.asp


Also some great new photos of the Helix Nebula.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_956_1.asp

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Have you ever wondered what the Earth looks like from Mars. Well now you can see for yourself. The Mars Global Surveyor Craft orbiting Mars took some photos of Earth.

That pic was amazing - I'd love to be able to view the earth from another planet, hell, I'd actually love to view the earth from anywhere in space. Great link!

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
That pic was amazing - I'd love to be able to view the earth from another planet, hell, I'd actually love to view the earth from anywhere in space. Great link!

D

Just in case you or someone else didn't notice there is a link in the text below the photos on nearly all the links I post. They lead you to a site where you can download a very large uncompressed version of the smaller photos on the news page.

[Mr. Anderson]

Yeah, I've been doing that - the one of the Earth from Mars is interesting, kind of blurry, but they outline the continents in a pic next to it. Very cool stuff.

I think what's best about that image is seeing the moon in the pic. I've looked at Jupiter and Saturn and seen their moons, but it not quite the same ;)

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Yeah, I've been doing that - the one of the Earth from Mars is interesting, kind of blurry, but they outline the continents in a pic next to it. Very cool stuff.

I think what's best about that image is seeing the moon in the pic. I've looked at Jupiter and Saturn and seen their moons, but it not quite the same ;)

D

No relative to the size of our planet we have a pretty good sized moon. Also it helps to be familiar with the planet and moon that is being photographed. I personally think it has a lot more meaning then a photo of Mars or any other planet.

[MacBandit]

MIDLATITUDE AURORA WARNING, MAY 28-31

A series of solar coronal mass ejections are expected to impact the
Earth over the next 72 hours. This may result in aurural activitiy visible
from as far south as the central United States and northern Europe (as
well as New Zealand and southern Australia). For updates, visit the Solar
Terrestrial Dispatch Web site at:

http://www.spacew.com/

[Mr. Anderson]

Now if the skies would just clear....we've had cloud cover here in DC continually for over a month - which is not the norm.

Uhg....

Any who..auroras are very cool, I've seen plenty in Alaska. Great stuff.

D :D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Now if the skies would just clear....we've had cloud cover here in DC continually for over a month - which is not the norm.

Uhg....

Any who..auroras are very cool, I've seen plenty in Alaska. Great stuff.

D :D

I've personally never seen one. Though I have missed many potential sightings due to cloud cover. It's been sunny and clear here ever since the cloudy day of the eclipse.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
I've personally never seen one.

Back in 96 or 97, not sure when exactly, the comet was up one night that there was a great, multi colored display of aurora. It looked like the comet was diving into the waves of light - I so wish I had my camera there that night, but I didn't and missed the shot. Ugh....

And if I showed it to you today you would have thought I made it in photoshop - it was amazing :D

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Back in 96 or 97, not sure when exactly, the comet was up one night that there was a great, multi colored display of aurora. It looked like the comet was diving into the waves of light - I so wish I had my camera there that night, but I didn't and missed the shot. Ugh....

And if I showed it to you today you would have thought I made it in photoshop - it was amazing :D

D

Sounds very very cool. The missed photos that I have had in my life time could have supported me with an income for life.

Missing photo opportunities is a big big part of the reason I got the Canon Digital Elph. I take it with me everywhere. The only missed photos now are when I just forget I have it with me.

[Mr. Anderson]

First of 3 Mars missions launched today.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/06/01/mars.mission/index.html

The ESA's Mars Express is very ambitious and marks a first attempt for them. If they have no problems and it all works - including their lander the Beagle - it will be a coup for space science.

Hope it works!

D

[wdlove]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
First of 3 Mars missions launched today.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/06/01/mars.mission/index.html

The ESA's Mars Express is very ambitious and marks a first attempt for them. If they have no problems and it all works - including their lander the Beagle - it will be a coup for space science.

Hope it works!

D

That is awesome, thank your Mr. Anderson. I also hope that all 3 explorations will be sucessful. NASA definitely needs some good news!

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by wdlove
...........NASA definitely needs some good news!

No doubt! I fear that if these missions of Nasa's don't go off without a hitch it might be the end of their Mars programs. They've just spent way too much money and then shot it into the surface of Mars without any results in the last decade.

[wdlove]

Donald Savage (202) 358-1547
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C._

Guy Webster (818) 354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

News Release: 2003-079________________________________________________ June 2, 2003

U.S. Partners Share in Excitement of Europe's Mars Mission

Americans are participating several ways in the European Space Agency's first mission to Mars, launched today from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

The mission, Mars Express, will reach the red planet on Dec. 27 then examine it both from an orbiter with seven instruments and on the surface with a lander named Beagle 2. The orbiter will point ground-penetrating radar at Mars for the first time, probing for evidence of underground water. Beagle 2 will conduct biochemical and geological tests at a different site than the two areas where NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers will land in January 2004.

"The exploration of Mars is an international adventure," said Dr. Cathy Weitz at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. "Our rover missions have key participants in Europe, and there are U.S. scientists on the teams for every instrument on Mars Express." Weitz serves dual coordinating roles as project scientist for NASA's participation in Mars Express and as program scientist for the Mars Exploration Rovers.

"This year's European and NASA missions to Mars truly complement each other in the added understanding they may give us about the present and past environments on that planet," said Dr. Jim Garvin, NASA's lead scientist for Mars exploration.

U.S. roles in Mars Express include navigational support from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and communication support from the JPL-managed Deep Space Network, which operates antenna stations in California, Spain and Australia.

NASA supplied major components for the orbiter's radar experiment. "We have very little information about the crust of Mars more than about a meter below the surface, but with this instrument we hope to probe as deep as 5 kilometers" (3 miles), said JPL's Dr. Jeffrey Plaut, who, as co-principal investigator for the instrument, collaborates closely with Prof. Giovanni Picardi, principal investigator at the Universita di Roma in Rome, Italy.
_
"With the radar, we will try to detect boundaries between layers of different types of material," Plaut said. "If there is a boundary between a rock-ice mixture at the surface and a rock-water mixture at depth, it will reflect the radio waves and we hope to detect it. We'll be looking for aquifers -- subsurface reservoirs of liquid water -- but nobody really knows whether Mars has them."_

The radar instrument, named the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding, might also detect other types of layer boundaries, such as between sediments and underlying volcanic rock, or between the polar ice caps and underlying liquid water. This type of instrument, carried by aircraft, has detected vast lakes under polar icecaps on Earth. It has not been used on another planet, though a similar instrument flew on an Apollo mission, said Richard Horttor, project manager for NASA's roles in Mars Express.

Of the instrument's NASA-funded components, the University of Iowa, Iowa City, built the transmitter, JPL built the receiver, and Astro Aerospace, Carpinteria, Calif., built the 40-meter (131-foot) antenna. Italy provided the instrument's digital processing system and software, and integrated the parts together.

One major question about Mars, and about instability of a planet's environment, is what became of the water that once apparently flowed in abundance on Mars' surface. NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft now orbiting Mars has located ice mixed into the top meter (about 3 feet) of Mars surface. Theories differ as to how much more water -- frozen or melted -- lies deeper and how much may have dissipated from the planet's upper atmosphere._ Mars Express will investigate the second possibility as well as the first. The radar instrument will examine the structure and variability of the ionosphere -- the atmosphere's top layer. Other instruments will study atmospheric chemistry and structure, and the interaction of the ionosphere with the solar wind of charged particles speeding outward from the Sun.

Additional instruments on the orbiter include a high-resolution stereo color camera and an infrared mineralogical mapping spectrometer._ The Beagle 2 lander will look for chemical signs of life on Mars and use a mechanical "mole" to dig up samples from as far as 1.5 meters (nearly 5 feet) away from the lander, among other experiments. Cooperation between American and European Mars missions extends to plans for using Mars Odyssey to relay communications between Beagle 2 and Earth when Mars Express is not in good position to do so. The Mars Exploration Rovers will use Mars Express as a relay at least once as a demonstration for even broader international interdependence in future exploration of Mars.

Mars Express is managed by the 15-nation European Space Agency's science and technology center at Noordwijk in the Netherlands._ JPL, a division of California Institute of Technology in Pasadena manages Mars Odyssey, the Mars Exploration Rover missions, and NASA's participation in Mars Express for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C.

Information is available online about Mars Express at
http://sci.esa.int/home/marsexpress and at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/express

about the radar experiment at
http://www.marsis.com

about Mars Exploration Rovers at
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer

and about NASA at
http://www.nasa.gov

[MacBandit]

Wow, that sounds really cool. Let's hope they find something. I was just thinking that it would be cool if they could somehow plant a few seismographs all over the planet so they could determine how dead the core is and also to get a seismographic image of the internals of the planet like they do with Earth regularly.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Wow, that sounds really cool. Let's hope they find something. I was just thinking that it would be cool if they could somehow plant a few seismographs all over the planet so they could determine how dead the core is and also to get a seismographic image of the internals of the planet like they do with Earth regularly.

I think that's just going to be a matter of time. They've already mapped the magnetic field (its somewhat spotty indicating a not so liquid core). That and some gravity measurements will do a good job of getting an idea of what's going on inside Mars. The siesmic stuff would only need a few things to work and they might even be able to pull of the siesmic source without explosives. Just crash one of the out of date probes in orbit. Plenty of umph! :D

D

[janey]

have you read that la times article about the mars express?
from http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-sci-euromars2jun02000423,1,7259706.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dfrontpage
A pop band, an artist, even a dentist, join an eclectic mix of scientists and businesses for Europe's first venture in planetary exploration.
that is so awesome and funny too...it was so odd that i just had to read it :p

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
I think that's just going to be a matter of time. They've already mapped the magnetic field (its somewhat spotty indicating a not so liquid core). That and some gravity measurements will do a good job of getting an idea of what's going on inside Mars. The siesmic stuff would only need a few things to work and they might even be able to pull of the siesmic source without explosives. Just crash one of the out of date probes in orbit. Plenty of umph! :D

D

I wasn't thinking of setting off our own charges. Simply waiting for sesmic activity to happen on it's own if there is any left. If a planet is cooling it should also be shrinking and collapsing which should cause all sorts of seismic activity.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
I wasn't thinking of setting off our own charges. Simply waiting for sesmic activity to happen on it's own if there is any left. If a planet is cooling it should also be shrinking and collapsing which should cause all sorts of seismic activity.

Ah, but then you don't have a controlled experiment and you'd also need quite a few sensors. With the planned approach you hit the opposite sid of the planet from the sensors and see what you get. You'd have data on the force of the event given the relative mass and velocity of the probe which greatly helps in data analysis.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Ah, but then you don't have a controlled experiment and you'd also need quite a few sensors. With the planned approach you hit the opposite sid of the planet from the sensors and see what you get. You'd have data on the force of the event given the relative mass and velocity of the probe which greatly helps in data analysis.

D

True, I guess that would be a better way to start then to put a bunch of seismographs all over the place.

[MacBandit]

Keep an eye on Cassiopeia there is a star in it that apparently varies greatly in brightness every so often. Not like a normal variable. Well anyway they are predicting it to do so in the upcoming months. Keep your eye on it it could go nova and if it did it would be the first time as far as I know that we knew of such an event before it happened.

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/variablestars/article_843_1.asp

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Keep an eye on Cassiopeia there is a star in it that apparently varies greatly in brightness every so often.

That's very cool!

It could go supernova in as little as 50,000 years.

I'd love to see it go supernova while I'm alive - that would be a spectacular event.

Do you know if they've imaged it with the Hubble at all?

D

[Rower_CPU]

We haven't lost stars from any constellations before have we? That would be pretty wild to see something as "eternal" as the night sky change...

[Stelliform]

....

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
That's very cool!

It could go supernova in as little as 50,000 years.

I'd love to see it go supernova while I'm alive - that would be a spectacular event.

Do you know if they've imaged it with the Hubble at all?

D

I don't know about the Hubble photos but if I get the time I'll look. I would make a bet if they haven't they soon will. In any case it could go SuperNova tomorrow or 100,000 years from now. I'm hoping for the sooner possibility.

[wdlove]

Guy Webster_818/354-6278______ ___
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

Donald Savage_ 202/358-1727_________
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

George H. Diller_ 321/867-2468
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
_
Release: 2003-080 ______________________________________________ June 4, 2003_

NASA Will Send Two Robotic Geologists to Roam on Mars

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover project kicks off by launching the first of two unique robotic geologists on June 8. The identical rolling rovers can see sharper images, explore farther and examine rocks better than anything that's ever landed on Mars. The second rover mission, bound for a different site on Mars, will launch as soon as June 25.

"The instrumentation onboard these rovers, combined with their great mobility, will offer a totally new view of Mars, including a microscopic view inside rocks for the first time," said Dr. Ed Weiler, associate administrator for space science at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.__ However, missions to Mars have proven to be far more hazardous than missions to other planets._ Historically, two out of three missions, from all countries that have tried to land on Mars, ended in failure._ We have done everything we can to ensure our rovers have the best chance of success."

The first Mars Exploration Rover will arrive at Mars on Jan. 4, 2004; the second on Jan. 25._ Plans call for each to operate for at least three months.

These missions continue NASA's quest to understand the role of water on Mars. "We will be using the rovers to find rocks and soils that could hold clues about wet environments of Mars' past," said Dr. Cathy Weitz, Mars Exploration Rover program scientist at NASA Headquarters. "We'll analyze the clues to assess whether those environments may have been conducive to life."

First, the rovers have to safely reach Mars._ "The rovers will use innovations to aid in a safe landing, but risks remain," said Peter Theisinger, Mars Exploration Rover project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

The rovers will bounce to airbag-cushioned landings at sites offering a balance of favorable conditions for safe landings and interesting science._ The designated site for the first mission is Gusev Crater. The second rover will go to a site called Meridiani Planum. "Gusev and Meridiani give us two different types of evidence about liquid water in Mars' history," said Dr. Joy Crisp, Mars Exploration Rover project scientist at JPL. "Gusev appears to have been a crater lake._ The channel of an ancient riverbed indicates water flowed right into it._ Meridiani has a large deposit of gray hematite, a mineral that usually forms in a wet environment."

The rovers, working as robotic field geologists, will examine the sites for clues about what happened there._ "The clues are in the rocks, but you can't go to every rock, so you split the job into two pieces," said Dr. Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for the package of science instruments on the rovers.

First, a panoramic camera at human-eye height, and a miniature thermal emission spectrometer with infrared vision help scientists identify the most interesting rocks._ The rovers can watch for hazards and maneuver around them. Each six-wheeled robot has a deck of solar panels, about the size of a kitchen table, for power._ The rover drives to the selected rock and extends an arm with tools on the end. Then, a microscopic imager, like a geologist's hand lens, gives a close-up view of the rock's texture. Two spectrometers identify the composition of the rock._ The fourth tool substitutes for a geologist's hammer. It exposes the fresh interior of a rock by scraping away the weathered surface layer.

Both rover missions will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Delta II launch vehicles. Launch opportunities begin for the first mission at 2:06 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) June 8 and for the second mission at 12:38 a.m. June 25, and repeat twice daily for up to 21 days for each mission.

"We see the twin rovers as stepping stones for the rest of the decade and to a future decade of Mars exploration that will ultimately provide the knowledge necessary for human exploration," said Orlando Figueroa, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters._

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover Project for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C._

Additional information about the project is online at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer

A press kit for the mission is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/press_kits/merlaunch.pdf

NASA Television will broadcast both launches live._ NASA Television is offered by some cable providers and is available via the AMC-2 satellite, transponder 9C, located at 85 degrees west longitude, vertical polarization, frequency 3880.0 megahertz._ JPL will carry live webcasts of the launches at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/webcast/mer

-end-

[wdlove]

Don Savage_ (202) 358-1727
NASA Headquarters, Washington D.C.

Guy Webster (321) 354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

George Diller (321) 867-2468
Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Teresa Martini (626) 205-4508
LEGO Company

News Release_2003-081_____ ____June 8, 2003
_____
Girl with Dreams Names Mars Rovers 'Spirit' and 'Opportunity'

Twin robotic geologists NASA is sending to Mars will embody in their newly chosen names -- Spirit and Opportunity -- two cherished attributes that guide humans to explore.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and 9-year-old Sofi Collis, who wrote the winning essay in a naming contest, unveiled the names this morning at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "Now, thanks to Sofi Collis, our third grade explorer-to-be from Scottsdale, Ariz., we have names for the rovers that are extremely worthy of the bold mission they are about to undertake," O'Keefe said.

Sofi read her essay: "I used to live in an orphanage. It was dark and cold and lonely. At night, I looked up at the sparkly sky and felt better. I dreamed I could fly there. In America, I can make all my dreams come true._ Thank you for the 'Spirit' and the 'Opportunity.'"

Hers was selected from nearly 10,000 entries in the contest sponsored by NASA and the Lego Co., a Denmark-based toymaker, with collaboration from the Planetary Society, Pasadena, Calif..

Collis was born in Siberia._ At age two, she was adopted by Laurie Collis and brought to the United States. "She has in her heritage and upbringing the soul of two great spacefaring countries," O'Keefe said. "One of NASA's goals is to inspire the next generation of explorers. Sofi is a wonderful example of how that next generation also inspires us."

Collis' dream of flying now takes the form of wanting to become an astronaut. Meanwhile, she enjoys playing with her older sister, swimming, reading Harry Potter stories, and her family's three dogs and one cat.

Lego President Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, commenting on the naming contest, said, "The early days of space exploration stimulated the creativity of an entire generation, expanded our imagination and encouraged us to push our limits, making us better and braver human beings. With this project, the Lego Co. wants to bring part of that magic back. Everything we do is aimed at giving children that same power to create, and by involving children in the Name the Rovers Contest and other related playful learning activities, we hope to motivate and inspire the next generation of explorers."

Eleven miles from today's naming ceremony, Spirit, formerly called Mars Exploration Rover A, waited for a launch opportunity on Monday at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Opportunity, the second twin in what is still named the Mars Exploration Rover project, is being prepared for its first launch opportunity on June 25.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for the NASA Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena.

Information about the rovers and the scientific instruments they carry is available online from JPL at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mer and from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., at http://athena.cornell.edu ._ Information about the naming contest is available at http://www.nametherovers.org .

_________________________________________________________ -end-

[MacBandit]

Great stuff. For some reason I thought they weren't going to be launched until later in the year. Well in any case both launches have been delayed due to weather and we still have a chance to watch the launch live online.

Here's the link.

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/webcast/mer/

[Mr. Anderson]

Its been launched!

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/06/10/mars.rover/index.html

And now we have to see if our luck holds and it makes it.

I also hope the other one gets out ok too.

Its going to be very interesting to see how the media handle this. Remember back a few years to the Pathfinder rover? It was in the news daily, HotWheels! even made a rover....

I don't know if this is going to be as big, but there will be two of them and the Beagle2. I can't wait to see the pics!

D

[mactastic]

Lets hope they keep all their calculations in one measurement system this time.:rolleyes: Nasa uses metric right?

[cubist]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Ah, but then you don't have a controlled experiment and you'd also need quite a few sensors. With the planned approach you hit the opposite sid of the planet from the sensors and see what you get. You'd have data on the force of the event given the relative mass and velocity of the probe which greatly helps in data analysis.

D

Plus we already know that Mars has very little seismic activity of its own. Its volcanos seem to have been quiet for a very long time.

Beagle is a clever design. I just wish so much effort weren't wasted in a fruitless search for life.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by cubist
Beagle is a clever design. I just wish so much effort weren't wasted in a fruitless search for life.

Hey, its not going just for that reason alone - and if they do find something, great! As far as I'm concerned every time we send out another probe its a step forward - regardless of the mission.

Until we land people there to search deep under the soil, we're not going to stop looking until we find something.

If we find something you can bet its going to cause a huge jump in the amount of money and missions that will be sent to find out more.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by cubist
Plus we already know that Mars has very little seismic activity of its own. Its volcanos seem to have been quiet for a very long time.

Beagle is a clever design. I just wish so much effort weren't wasted in a fruitless search for life.

I really don't think the search for life on other planets is fruitless. It in itself will help teach us about life on our planet. Not to mention if there's life there's a chance we can teraform and have another habitable planet.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Not to mention if there's life there's a chance we can teraform and have another habitable planet.

With or without life, I'm thinking Mars will be terraformed eventually (but we're talking 1000s of years, so its kind of hard to predict....)

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
With or without life, I'm thinking Mars will be terraformed eventually (but we're talking 1000s of years, so its kind of hard to predict....)

D


Well if it already supports some form of life that will definitely give us a huge headstart. Even if it's just simple bacteria.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Well if it already supports some form of life that will definitely give us a huge headstart. Even if it's just simple bacteria.

Maybe and maybe not - it all depends on how the natives react with Earth types. Maybe there's a bug up there that kills us maybe not. Regardless, changing the atmosphere that drastically (presure and chemical composition) would cause a mass extinction of most forms of life.

Then we'd have to introduce our biologies.

But we'd need to also get the core molten again - that's not a simple task or one to tackle lightly. Our engineering talents don't run to that scale yet.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
Maybe and maybe not - it all depends on how the natives react with Earth types. Maybe there's a bug up there that kills us maybe not. Regardless, changing the atmosphere that drastically (presure and chemical composition) would cause a mass extinction of most forms of life.

Then we'd have to introduce our biologies.

But we'd need to also get the core molten again - that's not a simple task or one to tackle lightly. Our engineering talents don't run to that scale yet.

D

In the long run yeah we would have to reactivate the planet gelogically but in the short run I think just the simple fact that life is there would give us a jump in that means that the conditions aren't too intolerable. Then we could build dome building like at the south pole but with more of a green house environment and get an established outpost going. As for the core I think our scientists have all sorts of ideas on how to do it but do not have the technology to actually peform the task let alone know what will happen if they do. Remember Mars has the largest mountain in the solar system as far as we know and it's a dead volcano. Also who's to say that Mars doesn't go through very extended periods of activity and dormincy caused by some external force like some believe about our ice ages. maybe there is another body to our solar system that we haven't seen yet that is on a very very extended orbit and when it comes through it causes geologic upheavals on the inner planets? It would explain a lot of things.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Remember Mars has the largest mountain in the solar system as far as we know and it's a dead volcano. Also who's to say that Mars doesn't go through very extended periods of activity and dormincy caused by some external force like some believe about our ice ages. maybe there is another body to our solar system that we haven't seen yet that is on a very very extended orbit and when it comes through it causes geologic upheavals on the inner planets? It would explain a lot of things.

Olympus Mons has more to do with the fact that the gravity is significantly lower there than on earth. We also have the Moon with its tidal forces that keep things moving in side a little more, stirring up the core and helping keep it molten (but its not the only force keeping the temp high).

Theoretically, melting the core of mars is straightforeward, but controlling it or even just doing it is far beyond anything we have knowledge of today. The size of the project would be staggering....

D

[Doctor Q]

On August 27, 2003, Mars will be 34.7 million miles from Earth, the closest since the year 57,617 BC and the closest until the year 2287.

It's just so cool that this is such a special year. We'll be able to reach out and shake hands with the Martians!

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
On August 27, 2003, Mars will be 34.7 million miles from Earth, the closest since the year 57,617 BC and the closest until the year 2287.

It's just so cool that this is such a special year. We'll be able to reach out and shake hands with the Martians!

You may not be specifically asking me but I'll give an update none the less.

As I have said a month or so a go I was going to line the interior of my tube to cut down on reflected light and also realign all my optics. This should give me an improvement in planetary viewing as they require very precise optics and reflected light can really screw with sharp views of them. Well I have my tube completely lined it's been about a month but I just haven't worked on it much. I have to trim the material now and reinstall all the hardware and align it. I should be getting to it this week. All in all I expect a marked improvement in the views. Also since the lunar eclipse I have purchased a mount for my digital camera so I can get better photos through the scope. I should have some good photos of mars for everyone in the next month or two.

[Mr. Anderson]

Last year it was damn close too, closest it had been in decades and they pointed Hubble to get some great shots.

This year I hope they do the same thing and get even better pics :D

Anyone have the data on the distance difference from last year to this year?

D

[MacBandit]

A star with a pattern.


http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_984_1.asp


This is really cool. If it really is two start or even if it isn't this could teach us a lot about how stars work.

[MacBandit]

Theres a lot of missions going to mars this year including one that started back in 1998.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/current/article_983_1.asp

[MacBandit]

Last but surely not least for today is some of the most amazing photos of the sun you will have ever seen.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_981_1.asp

[Stelliform]

....

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Stelliform
That is freakin awesome! It would be interesting to see a movie made of one spot. I imagine that those granules change quickly.

I can just imagine it roiling and boiling like a pot of hot oil. The thing to imagine is if they do change quickly think about how big they are. The size of something anywhere from 5-25 earths moving at insane speed.

[Mr. Anderson]

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_976_1.asp

Ok, 7.6 lightyears is still a bit far away, but its still cool to see that we have something that close. It puts it at 3rd closest behind the Alpha Centauri system and Barnard's Star.

And because of that - they're going to have to come up with a better name than SO 025300.5+165258

D :D

[MacBandit]

The planet that shouldn't be.

Not only is this planet far older then any planet should be but it is also in a globular cluster (poor on essential planet building elements) and it orbits a binary star system.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1001_1.asp

[Doctor Q]

They have a "plausible explanation" for its existence, namely that the planet was orbiting a star and was stolen by a passing binary star system. I wonder how many other explanations might fit the same facts.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
They have a "plausible explanation" for its existence, namely that the planet was orbiting a star and was stolen by a passing binary star system. I wonder how many other explanations might fit the same facts.

It still screws with the current theories on the evolution of the known universe though. It's too old for one and secondly they use to believe the raw material for planets didn't exist within a globular cluster.

[MacBandit]

Nozomi has been lost. The Japanese mars mission was damaged a few weeks ago during the strong solar storms that created impressive Aurora activity here on earth.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1124_1.asp




An impressive new neutron binary system has been found and may be one of the first tests of major gravitational wave inferometers. These systems give a good example to study Einsteins theory of relativity.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1124_1.asp

[MacBandit]

I've really been neglecting this thread for way too long. Here's an interesting story about where life may have started on our planet and where we are likely to discover it on Mars if it exists or existed.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20040105/borax.html

[Mr. Anderson]

I wonder how well the instruments on the rovers can detect boron....it would be very cool if they do find some, but it might be a little difficult if its under meters of dust and rock - we might have to wait until humans arrive to dig down deep enough to find dried lake beds.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
I wonder how well the instruments on the rovers can detect boron....it would be very cool if they do find some, but it might be a little difficult if its under meters of dust and rock - we might have to wait until humans arrive to dig down deep enough to find dried lake beds.

D

That could be but with any extreme environment such as mars there has to be some exposed material some where.

Right now we just need to get these rovers to continue working without the BSOD.

[King Cobra]

We made it to 7 miles on Earth digging deep, but that was with the aid of a lot of liquid and ultrasonic-resonant whales...

We need to let the machines do our work for us, because humans are idiots. Look, the robots have already spotted the first sign of alien stupidity:

http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=659561

edit: Images tags didn't want to work... :confused:

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
That could be but with any extreme environment such as mars there has to be some exposed material some where.


its also more than just having rock exposed that has boron in it ... x-ray spectroscopy (what they're using) might not be able to detect boron accurately enough - not sure on this particular sensor - my practical experience is with laser/plasma spectroscopy. Every system can't see all the elements the same way, some do better than others, some worse, but its always dependent on the element/isotope you're interested.

We have a laser spectroscopy system we developed here at work and its pretty damn good - better than most. But its too bulky to have flown to Mars. :D Thats the other thing - they probably had a compromise a lot in detection limits to have such a small system.

Regardless, it will be great to see the results.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by King Cobra
We made it to 7 miles on Earth digging deep, but that was with the aid of a lot of liquid and ultrasonic-resonant whales...

We need to let the machines do our work for us, because humans are idiots. Look, the robots have already spotted the first sign of alien stupidity:

http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=659561

edit: Images tags didn't want to work... :confused:

Seems to me I heard some where they were going to try to go to 15 miles right down to the subducting plate.

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Seems to me I heard some where they were going to try to go to 15 miles right down to the subducting plate.

you have a link on this?

But getting that sort of equipment to Mars is not that simple.

There was one proposal to place a bunch of small seismic sensors all around Mars and have a spacecraft crash land anywhere - and just like earthquakes on earth, the shockwaves would propagate across the planet and we'd get a good picture of the interior of Mars.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
you have a link on this?

But getting that sort of equipment to Mars is not that simple.

There was one proposal to place a bunch of small seismic sensors all around Mars and have a spacecraft crash land anywhere - and just like earthquakes on earth, the shockwaves would propagate across the planet and we'd get a good picture of the interior of Mars.

D

I'll have to look for the information on the drilling. I think it was probably on TechLive and in that case I have found that it's not uncommon for them to have huge typos.

I do remember about them wanting to seismographs on Mars and then recording a man made shock to get an image of the underlying layers. If Mars is truly dead and mostly solid then we should be able to get an image nearly clear through Mars.

I remember exactly what they are looking for on Mars to determine if there is life but I think it's more along the lines of fossils and chemical remains from early forms of life. I don't think they have any devices to detect rare isotopes and that sort of the thing though I could be wrong.


On a side note I have a few other articles to post to this thread that I haven't gotten around to yet so keep your eyes out for new updates over the next week or so.

[MacBandit]

Okay people time to put all our power together as a mass of people and try to save Hubble for public use.

Here's some information on the outcry against shutting it down and information on what it needs.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1158_1.asp


Here's information on who to contact to help save Hubble.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1160_1.asp

[MacBandit]

Here's from what I can see may be the only results we get back from Spirit unless the programers can pull a very larger rabbit our of a very small hat.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1157_1.asp

Looks like they do have some very intense equipment on board.

[MacBandit]

New deep field photo from Hubble. This one apparently has a lot more detail even though it doesn't resolve to as high of magnitude as the previous deep field shots.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1152_1.asp

[Stelliform]

.....

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by Stelliform
I wonder if NASA could sell hubble? Maybe the European Space Agency might be interested? Just a thought...

even Japan - they need something that works - they've been having so many problems with their own space program.

Its a great idea though, and its a total waste to let it go. Give the Hubble to them, they spend money for the upkeep, system support and data. Its perfect - unfortunately, it probably won't happen.

D

[MacBandit]

There's been talk of some large national astronomy group buying it so it can be used by the private market.

[Stelliform]

.....

[Mr. Anderson]

Originally posted by MacBandit
There's been talk of some large national astronomy group buying it so it can be used by the private market.

that's quite cool - you wouldn't happen to have a link.

it is such a waste to let it go like that - after its been able to provide so much science. Even boosting it into a higher orbit that would keep it up there for a couple decades wouldn't be a bad thing either.

D

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
that's quite cool - you wouldn't happen to have a link.

it is such a waste to let it go like that - after its been able to provide so much science. Even boosting it into a higher orbit that would keep it up there for a couple decades wouldn't be a bad thing either.

D

I get so much astronomy information that unfortunately it's hard to sift through it. I think it may have been on the yahoo starry night newsgroup or maybe one of the Sky&Telescope news updates. If I see something else on it I'll be sure to post it. I'm sure Hubble will be in astronomy news more and more over the next year or so.

[Mr. Anderson]

True - and until they send up the space tow truck to bring it down, it will still be working. And when that time comes, I'll bet there's a bigger push to save it :D

D

[Stelliform]

....

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Stelliform
Link Here... (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/hubble_future_040121.html)

Thanks good info. Good to see someone contributing besides me.:D


I would like to see at the very least NASA let people use it until it's so out of service that it's inoperable. By that time hopefully the new space scopes should be up and running.

[Stelliform]

....

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Stelliform
I've been busy, but astronomy is really what I enjoy. Hence the nick. ;)

Yeah I figured that.

I'm always up for an Astronomy discussion if you ever want to chat.

[Stelliform]

I just found this really cool amateur astronomy site.

Cloudbait Observatory (http://www.cloudbait.com/)

He has a CCD pic he took in 1977. He thinks it might be the first CCD image by an amateur , and I think he might be right. :)

[MacBandit]

Here's a couple astronomy pages by members of the local Astro society here in Eugene, OR.

http://www.nexstar11.com/

http://hometown.aol.com/sampitts/Astrophotography-1.html

They both have quite a few photos they have taken.

Here's my photos.

http://homepage.mac.com/louiskst/Astrophotography/Menu87.html

Mine will be much improved next time I take some as I got a mount to hold my digital camera and I will no longer have to hold it and try to keep it aligned with my eyepiece while I try to track with the scope at the same time.

[Doctor Q]

I have a question for all of you. What are some of the "lively" controversies right now in the field? In other words, if you put well-respected astronomers together at a conference, what topics do you find them disagreeing with each other about?

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Doctor Q
I have a question for all of you. What are some of the "lively" controversies right now in the field? In other words, if you put well-respected astronomers together at a conference, what topics do you find them disagreeing with each other about?

That would be a good question. I'm not sure I'll definitely look into it though.

[Stelliform]

....

[Doctor Q]

Thanks, Stelliform. Putting your two comments together, I can envision a headline of the future:

Convenience Store Clerk Discovers Truth About God's Existence
Joe Schmoe, amateur philosopher, astronomer, and quantum particle hobbiest, finds the answer others have sought for thousands of years.

[MacBandit]

Largest gravity lens record broken within 3 weeks of the prior record.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1177_1.asp

I find gravity lenses fascinating and it appears they are more common then most scientists would have initially though.

[MacBandit]

Continued debate over Hubble is getting quite heated.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1175_1.asp

[MacBandit]

A heads up to those that may not know we have two comets this year that may be visible to the naked eye. The really cool thing is that if visible will both be in the same part of the sky towards the end of March and April.

One of them Linear (C/2002 T7) is visible right now through a pair of binoculars. It can be found a little ways above the horizon due just after the sun sets.

I haven't seen it myself yet due to the weather but I have read that it has begun to grow a tail.

[Dont Hurt Me]

Originally posted by MacBandit
Continued debate over Hubble is getting quite heated.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1175_1.asp It should be getting heated. if they can attach a booster to run it into the earth then they can attach a booster to increase its orbit. Its all about politics and money for the next pork barrel project. Nasa could do a lot of good P.R and science in saving and getting more use out of Hubble. this would help other Nasa missions. I still feel Nasa has some very poor people making those big decisions. Mr O'Keefe doesnt impress me the least. Still think we need all new people at the helm of that floundering orginization.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by Dont Hurt Me
It should be getting heated. if they can attach a booster to run it into the earth then they can attach a booster to increase its orbit. Its all about politics and money for the next pork barrel project. Nasa could do a lot of good P.R and science in saving and getting more use out of Hubble. this would help other Nasa missions. I still feel Nasa has some very poor people making those big decisions. Mr O'Keefe doesnt impress me the least. Still think we need all new people at the helm of that floundering orginization.

Honestly I think the it's coming down the pipe from the presidents office. I think the pres cut a lot more programs at NASA then has been made public in order to have his Moon and Mars legacy. I think he probably cut hubble quietly and is making other people take the fall for it. Also there is a lot of pressure coming from the general populace to shut NASA down because it's too dangerous. These people have no idea that 99% of every convenience they use every day owes it's origin to the space program. Also astronauts no how dangerous it is and wouldn't go if they didn't feel it was worth it. Honestly getting in your car or taking a shower each day is way more dangerous then anything NASA does.

[MacBandit]

Okay well here's the latest information on the two comets that we will likely be able to see with the naked eye this year and in the same area of the sky no less. This is turning out to be a real exciting year for astronomy with the comets and mars activities and everything it's just so exciting.

http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/comets/article_1037_1.asp

[MacBandit]

This is one of the coolest and most exciting Astronomy stories I've heard of in a long time. It really stretches the human perspective to imagine the amount of power being produced in this explosion.

http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0220stardisk.html

[MacBandit]

Possible new class of Black Holes found.

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington March 1, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/544-6535)

Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, CfA, Cambridge, Mass.
(Phone: 617/496-7998)

RELEASE: 04-076

ENIGMATIC X-RAY SOURCES MAY POINT TO NEW CLASS OF BLACK HOLES

Mysterious, powerful X-ray sources found in nearby
galaxies may represent a new class of objects, according to
data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These sources,
which are not as hot as typical neutron-star or black-hole X-
ray sources, could be a large new population of black holes
with masses several hundred times that of the sun.

"The challenge raised by the discovery of these sources is to
understand how they produce so much X-ray power at temperatures
of a few million degrees," said Rosanne Di Stefano from the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge,
Mass., and Tufts University in Medford, Mass. Di Stefano is
lead author of a series of papers published in or submitted to
The Astrophysical Journal and The Astrophysical Journal
Letters.

Until a few years ago, astronomers only knew of two sizes of
black holes: stellar black holes, with masses about 10 times
the sun, and supermassive black holes located at the centers of
galaxies, with masses ranging from millions to billions times
the sun. Recent evidence suggests a class of "intermediate-
mass" black holes may also exist.

Searching for quasisoft sources may be a new way to identify
those X-ray sources most likely to be intermediate-mass black
holes," said Albert Kong of the Center for Astrophysics (CfA)
and a member of the team.

The enigmatic objects found by the Chandra team are called
"quasisoft" sources, because they have a temperature in the
range of 1 million to 4 million degrees Celsius. On the one
hand this temperature range is below the 10 million to 100
million-degree gas associated with "hard" X-ray sources, such
as neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes. On the other hand
the quasisoft-source temperatures are hotter than the several
hundred-thousand-degree gas associated with "supersoft" X-ray
sources due to white dwarfs.

Di Stefano and her colleagues determined the temperatures of
individual X-ray emitting objects in four galaxies by measuring
their X-ray spectra, or distribution of X-rays with energy.
They found that between 15 percent and 20 percent of all
detected sources fell in the quasisoft temperature range.

The power output of quasisoft sources is comparable to or
greater than that of neutron stars or stellar-mass black holes
fueled by the infall of matter from companion stars. This
implies the region that produces the X-rays in a quasisoft
source is dozens of times larger.

One possibility is the quasisoft sources represent standard
neutron stars or stellar black holes where the associated hot
gas cloud is, for some as yet unknown reason, much larger than
usual. Or the quasisoft X-rays could be coming from the
vicinity of intermediate-mass black holes having masses a
hundred or more times greater than the mass of the sun. This
would increase the diameter of the event horizon and could
explain the larger sizes and lower temperatures associated with
quasisoft sources.

As more quasisoft sources are discovered, the types of galaxies
in which they reside and where they are located in a galaxy
should give astronomers additional clues as to their nature.
The present study indicates that they occur in various
locations in elliptical as well as
spiral galaxies.

Di Stefano and her CfA team observed quasisoft sources in
several galaxies with Chandra including M101, M83, M51 and NGC
4697. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.,
manages the Chandra program for NASA's Office of Space Science,
Washington. Northrop Grumman of Redondo Beach, Calif., formerly
TRW, Inc., was the prime development contractor for the
observatory. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls
science and flight operations from the Chandra X-ray Center in
Cambridge, Mass.

Additional information and images are available on the Internet
at:

http://chandra.harvard.edu
and
http://chandra.nasa.gov


-end-

* * *

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[MacBandit]

Cassini is growing ever closer to Saturn and is returning some fantastic images that are just wetting the appetites of astronomers everywhere in anticipation of what's to come from the exciting mission this craft is under going.

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm



A new object was discovered in the Kuiper belt beyond the orbits of Pluto and Uranus that sets a new record for size.

It's 1250KMs across which is by far the largest object found out there. For comparison Pluto is 2300KMs across.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1184_1.asp



Finally if you haven't heard in the last month there were some major findings announced about Dark Energy. Way too much to explain in brief so just read the link.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1191_1.asp

[MacBandit]

Fanatastic news Opportunity has found evidence of water. Now they just need to discover fossils or remains of life. There has been some recent photos that look very similar to fossilized plant life. We'll see what turns up.

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington March 2, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Guy Webster
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-5011)

RELEASE: 04-077

OPPORTUNITY ROVER FINDS STRONG EVIDENCE MERIDIANI PLANUM WAS
WET

Scientists have concluded the part of Mars NASA's
Opportunity rover is exploring was soaking wet in the past.

Evidence the rover found in a rock outcrop led scientists to
the conclusion. Clues from the rocks' composition, such as the
presence of sulfates, and the rocks' physical appearance, such
as niches where crystals grew, helped make the case for a
watery history.

"Liquid water once flowed through these rocks. It changed their
texture, and it changed their chemistry," said Dr. Steve
Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal
investigator for the science instruments on Opportunity and its
twin, Spirit. "We've been able to read the tell-tale clues the
water left behind, giving us confidence in that conclusion," he
said.

Dr. James Garvin, lead scientist for Mars and lunar exploration
at NASA Headquarters, Washington, said, "NASA launched the Mars
Exploration Rover mission specifically to check whether at
least one part of Mars ever had a persistently wet environment
that could possibly have been hospitable to life. Today we have
strong evidence for an exciting answer: Yes."

Opportunity has more work ahead. It will try to determine
whether, besides being exposed to water after they formed, the
rocks may have originally been laid down by minerals
precipitating out of solution at the bottom of a salty lake or
sea.

The first views Opportunity sent of its landing site in Mars'
Meridiani Planum region five weeks ago delighted researchers at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.,
because of the good fortune to have the spacecraft arrive next
to an exposed slice of bedrock on the inner slope of a small
crater.

The robotic field geologist has spent most of the past three
weeks surveying the whole outcrop, and then turning back for
close-up inspection of selected portions. The rover found a
very high concentration of sulfur in the outcrop with its alpha
particle X-ray spectrometer, which identifies chemical elements
in a sample.

"The chemical form of this sulfur appears to be in magnesium,
iron or other sulfate salts," said Dr. Benton Clark of Lockheed
Martin Space Systems, Denver. "Elements that can form chloride
or even bromide salts have also been detected."

At the same location, the rover's Moessbauer spectrometer,
which identifies iron-bearing minerals, detected a hydrated
iron sulfate mineral called jarosite. Germany provided both
these instruments. Opportunity's miniature thermal emission
spectrometer has also provided evidence for sulfates.

On Earth, rocks with as much salt as this Mars rock either have
formed in water or, after formation, have been highly altered
by long exposures to water. Jarosite may point to the rock's
wet history having been in an acidic lake or an acidic hot
springs environment.

The water evidence from the rocks' physical appearance comes in
at least three categories, said Dr. John Grotzinger,
sedimentary geologist from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge: indentations called "vugs," spherules
and crossbedding.

Pictures from the rover's panoramic camera and microscopic
imager reveal the target rock, dubbed "El Capitan," is
thoroughly pocked with indentations about a centimeter (0.4
inch) long and one-fourth or less that wide, with apparently
random orientations. This distinctive texture is familiar to
geologists as the sites where crystals of salt minerals form
within rocks that sit in briny water. When the crystals later
disappear, either by erosion or by dissolving in less-salty
water, the voids left behind are called vugs, and in this case
they conform to the geometry of possible former evaporite
minerals.

Round particles the size of BBs are embedded in the outcrop.
From shape alone, these spherules might be formed from volcanic
eruptions, from lofting of molten droplets by a meteor impact,
or from accumulation of minerals coming out of solution inside
a porous, water-soaked rock. Opportunity's observations that
the spherules are not concentrated at particular layers in the
outcrop weigh against a volcanic or impact origin, but do not
completely rule out those origins.

Layers in the rock that lie at an angle to the main layers, a
pattern called crossbedding, can result from the action of wind
or water. Preliminary views by Opportunity hint the
crossbedding bears hallmarks of water action, such as the small
scale of the crossbedding and possible concave patterns formed
by sinuous crestlines of underwater ridges.

The images obtained to date are not adequate for a definitive
answer. So scientists plan to maneuver Opportunity closer to
the features for a better look. "We have tantalizing clues, and
we're planning to evaluate this possibility in the near
future," Grotzinger said.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in
Pasadena, manages the Mars Exploration Rover project for NASA's
Office of Space Science, Washington.

For information about NASA and the Mars mission on the
Internet, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

Images and additional information about the project are also
available on the Internet at:

http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov

and

http://athena.cornell.edu


-end-

* * *

NASA press releases and other information are available automatically
by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov.
In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type
the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will
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automatic message will include additional information on the service.
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GO NASA. To unsubscribe from this mailing list, address an E-mail
message to domo@hq.nasa.gov, leave the subject blank, and type only
"unsubscribe press-release" (no quotes) in the body of the message.

[Doctor Q]

Fanatastic news Opportunity has found evidence of water.That's great news for another reason. Southern California is always looking for more sources of water. Now we just need a big pipeline! Or we can sign up Astronaut Joseph Hazelwood. ;)

[Mr. Anderson]

Just because it had water doesn't mean we'll find life (although I have to say I think we will) One thing that hasn't been addressed is how long ago did they find evidence of water? It was most probably billions of years since there is quite a lot of evidence of meteor impacts that would have been eroded if water was still on the surface.

D

[MacBandit]

Just because it had water doesn't mean we'll find life (although I have to say I think we will) One thing that hasn't been addressed is how long ago did they find evidence of water? It was most probably billions of years since there is quite a lot of evidence of meteor impacts that would have been eroded if water was still on the surface.

D

The water evidence they are finding is within the crater and was there after the impact. They think the crater might have been filled like a large lake that is the reason they sent the rover there in the first place.

I agree just because there is water does not mean there was life but it does highly increase the odds of life. At least the type of life that we know of on earth which requires water for survival.

[MacBandit]

Congress has called for studies to be done on the cost and risks involved in performing a future service mission to Hubble. At the same time they have basically mandated that the previous mission plans to service the Hubble are to continue while these studies are being done.

http://skyandtelescope.com/news/article_1209_1.asp

[MacBandit]

Not one week after the last redshift record was smashed it has been smashed once again this time by Hubble. The farthest oldest most known galaxy was discovered last week by Hubble which brings up further questions on how fast galaxies formed after the big bang.



Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington March 9, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1547)

Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore
(Phone: 410/338-4514)

Lars Lindberg Christensen
HST ESA Information Centre
(Phone: 011/49-89-320-06-306)

RELEASE: 04-086

HUBBLE'S DEEP VIEW OF THE UNIVERSE UNVEILS EARLIEST GALAXIES

Astronomers today unveiled the deepest portrait of the
visible universe ever taken. A one million second long exposure
taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) may reveal the
first galaxies to emerge from the so-called "dark ages" shortly
after the big bang.

The new image, called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF),
should offer new insights into what types of objects reheated
the cold, dark universe about one billion years after the big
bang, when stars first started to shine, about 13 billion years
ago. The image reveals some galaxies at distances until now too
faint to be seen even in Hubble's previous faraway looks,
called the Hubble Deep Fields (HDFs), taken in 1995 and 1998.

"Hubble takes us to within a stone's throw of the big bang
itself," said Massimo Stiavelli of the Space Telescope Science
Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, and the HUDF project lead. A
key question for HUDF astronomers is whether the universe
appears the same at this very early time as it does when the
cosmos was between one and two billion years old.

The HUDF field contains an estimated 10,000 galaxies. In
ground-based images, the patch of sky in which the galaxies
reside is largely empty, just one-tenth the diameter of the
full moon. Located in the constellation Fornax, the region is
below the constellation Orion.

This new view is actually two separate images taken by Hubble's
Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Near Infrared Camera
and Multi-object Spectrometer (NICMOS). The combination of ACS
and NICMOS images will be used to search for galaxies that
existed between 800 and 400 million years after the big bang.

The ACS field is studded with a wide range of galaxies of
various sizes, shapes, and colors. In vibrant contrast to the
image's rich harvest of classic spiral and elliptical galaxies,
there is a zoo of oddball galaxies littering the field. Some
look like toothpicks, others like links on a bracelet. A few
galaxies appear to be interacting. These oddball galaxies, that
existed 800 million years after the big bang, chronicle a
period when the universe was chaotic, when order and structure
were just beginning to emerge.

The NICMOS reveals the farthest galaxies ever seen, perhaps
just some 400 million years after the birth of the cosmos.
That's because the expanding universe has stretched their light
into the near-infrared portion of the spectrum, where NICMOS
observes.

"The images will also help us prepare for the next step from
NICMOS on Hubble to the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope.
The NICMOS images reach back to the distance and time that Webb
is destined to explore at much greater sensitivity," explained
Rodger Thompson of the University of Arizona and the NICMOS
principal investigator.

The entire HUDF was observed with the advanced camera's "grism"
spectrograph, an instrument used to measure distances to these
distant objects. "The grism spectra have already yielded the
identification of about a thousand objects. Included among them
are some of the intensely faint and red points of light in the
ACS image, prime candidates for distant galaxies," said
Sangeeta Malhotra of the STScI and Principal Investigator for
the Ultra Deep Field's ACS grism follow-up study. "Based on
those identifications, some of these objects are among the
farthest and youngest galaxies ever seen. The grism spectra
also distinguish among other types of very red objects, such as
old and dusty red galaxies, quasars and cool dwarf stars," he
said.

The ACS picture required a series of exposures taken over the
course of 400 HST orbits around Earth from Sept. 24, 2003, to
Jan. 16, 2004. The size of a phone booth, ACS captured ancient
photons of light that began traversing the universe even before
Earth existed. Photons of light from the very faintest objects
arrived at a trickle of one photon per minute, as opposed to
millions of photons per minute from nearer galaxies.

The STScI is operated by the Association of Universities for
Research in Astronomy, Inc. under contract with NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The HST is a project of
international cooperation between NASA and the European Space
Agency.

For information about NASA and agency projects on the Internet,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/formedia

For HST images and information on the Internet, visit:

http://hubblesite.org/news/2004/07


-end-

* * *

NASA press releases and other information are available automatically
by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov.
In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type
the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will
reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. A second
automatic message will include additional information on the service.
NASA releases also are available via CompuServe using the command
GO NASA. To unsubscribe from this mailing list, address an E-mail
message to domo@hq.nasa.gov, leave the subject blank, and type only
"unsubscribe press-release" (no quotes) in the body of the message.

[MacBandit]

Apparently Dr. Michael Brown from the California Institute of Technology has discovered what they are calling a very unusual object orbitin in our Solar System. At the same time they are saying it is the furthest distant object orbiting our sun. They are at this time not releasing any more information on it until Monday.

What could it be?

This is really bizarre they are delaying a press release. This just makes you think they want to determine what to release and what not to release and are taking a few days to determine it. Who knows. Maybe it's the mysterious dark star that was so hypothesized in the early 90's.

Donald Savage/Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington March 12, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1547/1726)

Jane Platt
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone: 818/354-0880)

NOTE TO EDITORS: N04-040

NASA SCHEDULES NEWS BRIEFING ABOUT UNUSUAL SOLAR OBJECT

The discovery of a mysterious object in our solar system
is the topic of a listen-and-log-on news briefing on Monday,
March 15, at 1 p.m. EST.

Dr. Michael Brown, associate professor of planetary astronomy,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif. will
present his discovery of the most distant object ever detected
orbiting the sun. He and colleagues made the discovery as part
of a NASA-funded research project.

The virtual news briefing is only for reporters. Reporters in
the United States can listen to the briefing and participate in
the question-and-answer session by calling: 888/889-1963.
Overseas media may call: 1/773/756-4808. Calls to these lines
should start at 12:50 p.m. EST. The passcode is: "objects."

Graphics supporting this news briefing will be posted Monday on
the Internet by 1 p.m. EST:

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2004-
05/telecon/

Images and information about this discovery will be on the
Internet at:

http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2004-05

&

http://www.nasa.gov


-end-

* * *

NASA press releases and other information are available automatically
by sending an Internet electronic mail message to domo@hq.nasa.gov.
In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type
the words "subscribe press-release" (no quotes). The system will
reply with a confirmation via E-mail of each subscription. A second
automatic message will include additional information on the service.
NASA releases also are available via CompuServe using the command
GO NASA. To unsubscribe from this mailing list, address an E-mail
message to domo@hq.nasa.gov, leave the subject blank, and type only
"unsubscribe press-release" (no quotes) in the body of the message.

[Doctor Q]

Apparently Dr. Michael Brown from the California Institute of Technology has discovered what they are calling a very unusual object orbitin in our Solar System. At the same time they are saying it is the furthest distant object orbiting our sun. They are at this time not releasing any more information on it until Monday.I was at Cal Tech this morning. Maybe I should have asked him! :)

Please post more tomorrow, after the briefing, MacBandit, and summarize the news for us.

[MacBandit]

I was at Cal Tech this morning. Maybe I should have asked him! :)

Please post more tomorrow, after the briefing, MacBandit, and summarize the news for us.

I'll be sure to do that when I get the chance.

I'm still away from home on a job. Sundays are my day off.

[Doctor Q]

I guess we have the answer: 10th planet around the Sun found? (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=64153)

[MacBandit]

I guess we have the answer: 10th planet around the Sun found? (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=64153)

Yes that's it. I found out on Monday but I haven't had time this week with my out of town job to post the information on it.

The latest news I'm reading says it might have a moon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3514594.stm

[Doctor Q]

NASA's Opportunity Rover has reunited itself with the heat shield that protected its entry into the Martian atmosphere almost a year ago, when it first arrived at Mars. After it was ejected, the shield crashed to the surface nearly 2 km away from Opportunity's landing spot. The rover will study both the heat shield, and its impact mark - now the freshest crater on Mars. Engineers will have an opportunity to understand how the heat shield performed during atmospheric entry, and scientists will get a chance to see what's beneath the surface of Mars.

Full story: http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/opportunity_heat_shield.html?29122004